Coinbase’s India Services Suspended Amid ‘Informal Pressure’ From the RBI, Armstrong

In a Tuesday earnings call, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong admitted that the exchange stopped India’s unified payments interface (UPI) due to “informal pressure” from the RBI. Armstrong’s remarks came a month after Coinbase’s India services were banned three days after launch. Coinbase stated on April 7 that it was working with India’s bank regulators and payment partners at an event in Bengaluru. “Concerning the recent media stories around the purchase of Cryptocurrencies using UPI, NPCI would like to clarify that we are not aware of any crypto exchange using UPI,” the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) said a statement released the same night. Coinbase halted India services due to RBI’s ‘informal pressure’: Armstrong#bitcoin #nftshttps://t.co/zbObUAwPqz — thinkmoon.io 🇺🇦🇺🇦| Latest crypto trends & news (@thinkmoonio) May 11, 2022 The global crypto exchange had to cease UPI transactions on its app just three days after announcing its launch in India. Despite the Supreme Court’s decision in 2020 to overturn the central bank’s crypto banking ban, there are “elements in the government there, especially at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI),” according to Armstrong. He continued, “They’re using subtle pressure behind the scenes to block some of these payments that may be happening over UPI.” Due to the RBI’s “shadow ban” on the cryptocurrency business, Indian exchanges have experienced issues accessing banking and paymen...